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Festo’s CPX Modular Valve Terminal

Download a PDF of the ad.

Visit Festo online.

See the Festo’s Bionic Smart Bird at the 2012 Pack Expo

Explore solutions and innovations coming up at the 2012 Pack Expo. It runs from Sunday, October 28th to the 31st at McCormick Place in Chicago. Many international manufacturers will be present, along with our vendor Festo, who will be located in the South Hall, booth #2456.

Festo will be offering FREE seminars for CPX and Motion Control this year along with a hospitality event.  Festo would like to begin inviting our customers to sign up for these classes as this is a great opportunity to get some hands on training.  Festo will also host a hospitality event on Tuesday, Oct 30^th from 4:30pm – 8:30pm with food and cocktails along with their Bionic Smart Bird flying around in the room.

Registration is FREE! Go to the following link to register: http://9nl.com/packexpo/
Go to the“Registration Type” Section.
Enter the code 46A35 in the box provided.
All fees will be waived prior to check out.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Brian Mueller, VP Industrial, Price Engineering.
Dan Western, District Sales Manager, Festo.

Footage of Festo’s Bionic Smart Bird in action:

Click HERE to see the Price Engineering/Festo ad in the August edition of Hydraulics & Pneumatics Magazine.

Alaark Tooling & Automation Fair RSVP

As reported several weeks ago, Price Engineering will be participating in Alaark Tooling & Automation’s 25th Anniversary Automation Fair & Open House. In addition to sponsoring Mitsubishi Electric’s ‘In Motion’ truck, Price is also sponsoring Festo’s Electric Actuator Van.

Automation Fair participants include:

Festo
Mitsubishi
Price Framework
80/20 Inc.
Allen Bradley
Omron
Keyence
PPT
Cognex
3D LMI
Denso
Enerpac
Kundinger

…and more.

Food will be provided by Johnsonville Brats. Beverages are also available. There will also be door prizes as well as a raffle for those attending the event. Win items such as the highly coveted Price Engineering camo hat, coffee tumbler and more!

This is a FREE and open event, but we strongly recommend an RSVP to account for accurate food and beverage quanitities. Thank you! 

Click here for event info and to RSVP.

Click HERE to view a PDF of the invitation.

How to Prevent Hydraulic Systems from Overheating

By: Brendan Casey
Insider Secrets to Hydraulics (11/03)

Why Do Hydraulic Systems Overheat?

Over-heating of hydraulic fluid in operation is caused by inefficiencies. Inefficiencies result in loss of input power, which are converted to heat. A hydraulic system’s heat load is equal to the total power lost (PL) through inefficiencies and can be expressed as:

PLtotal = PLpump + PLvalves + PLplumbing + PLactuators

If the total input power lost to heat is greater than the heat dissipated, the hydraulic system will eventually overheat.

Hydraulic Fluid Temperature – How Hot Is ‘Too Hot’?

Hydraulic fluid temperatures above 180°F (82°C) damage most seal compounds and accelerate degradation of the oil. While the operation of any hydraulic system at temperatures above 180°F should be avoided, fluid temperature is too high when viscosity falls below the optimum value for the hydraulic system’s components. This can occur well below 180°F, depending on the fluid’s viscosity grade.

Maintaining Stable Hydraulic Fluid Temperature

To achieve stable fluid temperature, a hydraulic system’s capacity to dissipate heat must exceed its inherent heat load. For example, a system with continuous input power of 100 kW and an efficiency of 80% needs to be capable of dissipating a heat load of at least 20 kW. It’s important to note that an increase in heat load or a reduction in a hydraulic system’s capacity to dissipate heat will alter the balance between heat load and dissipation.

Returning to the above example, the hydraulic power unit had a continuous power rating of 37 kW and was fitted with an air-blast heat exchanger. The exchanger was capable of dissipating 10 kW of heat under ambient conditions or 27% of available input power (10/37 x 100 = 27). This is adequate from a design perspective. The performance of all cooling circuit components were operating within design limits.

Pressure Drop Means Heat

At this point it was clear that the overheating problem was being caused by excessive heat load. Concerned about the length of the umbilical, I calculated its pressure drop. The theoretical pressure drop across 710 feet of ¾” pressure hose at 24 gpm is 800 psi. The pressure drop across the same length of 1″ return hose is 200 psi. The formula for these calculations is available here. The theoretical heat load produced by the pressure drop across the umbilical of 1,000 psi (800 + 200 = 1000) was 10.35 kW. The formula for this calculation is available here.

This meant that the heat load of the umbilical was 0.35 kW more than the heat dissipation capacity of the hydraulic system’s heat exchanger. This, when combined with the system’s normal heat load (inefficiencies) was causing the hydraulic system to overheat.

Beat The Heat

There are two ways to solve overheating problems in hydraulic systems:

1. Decrease heat load

OR

2. Increase heat dissipation.

Decreasing heat load is always the preferred option because it increases the efficiency of the hydraulic system. In the above example, the heat load of the umbilical alone was nearly 30% of available input power, a figure that would normally be considered unacceptable. Decreasing this heat load to an acceptable level would have involved reducing the pressure drop, by replacing the pressure and return lines in the umbilical with larger diameter hoses. The cost of doing this for what was a temporary installation meant that, in this case, the most economical solution was to install additional cooling capacity in the circuit.

Continuing to operate a hydraulic system when the fluid is over-temperature is similar to operating an internal combustion engine with high coolant temperature. Damage is guaranteed. Therefore, whenever a hydraulic system starts to overheat, shut it down, identify the cause and fix it.

Beat The Heat – Stay Cool With These Helpful Tips

Today temperatures are reported to hit nearly 100 degrees! Make sure you and your loved ones are taking precautions for dealing with the excessively hot temperatures. Even in a healthy adult, some medical problems can arise from heat exposure.

 

Common heat-related issues that may arise:

• Heat Cramps – cramps or muscle spasms in the abdomen, arms or legs.
  Solution: Stop activity. Cool down, drink clear juice or sports drink.
• Heat Exhaustion – heavy sweating, paleness, muscle cramps, weakness, dizziness, headache, nausea, fainting.
  Solution: Cool down, seek medical attention.
• Heat Stroke – extremely high body temperature, red, hot, dry skin, rapid pulse, throbbing headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion, unconsciousness.
  Solution: Call 911 and cool the victim with shower or hose until help arrives.

 

How to stay cool in hot weather:

• Never leave children, disabled persons, or pets in a parked car – even briefly. Temperatures in a car can become life threatening within minutes. On an 80-degree day, the temperature inside a car even with the windows cracked slightly can reach 100 degrees in less than 10 minutes! Click here for demonstration of extreme heat in cars (wmv 3Mb)
• Keep your living space cool. Cover windows to keep the sun from shining in. If you don’t have an air conditioner, open windows to let air circulate. When it’s hotter than 95 degrees, use fans to blow hot air out of the window rather than to blow hot air on to your body. Basements or ground floors are often cooler than upper floors.
• Slow down and limit physical activity. Plan outings or exertion for the early morning or after dark, when temperatures are cooler.
• Drink plenty of water and eat lightly. Don’t wait for thirst, but instead drink plenty of water throughout the day. Avoid alcohol or caffeine and stay away from hot, heavy meals.
• Wear lightweight, loose-fitting, light-colored clothing. Add a hat or umbrella to keep your head cool…and don’t forget sunscreen!
• Don’t stop taking medication unless your doctor says you should. Take extra care to stay cool, and ask your doctor or pharmacist for any special heat advice.
• Taking a cool shower or bath will cool you down. A shower or bath will actually work faster than air conditioner. Applying cold wet rags to the neck, head and limbs also cools down the body quickly.

– From Ready Wisconsin at http://readywisconsin.wi.gov/heat/default.asp

Price Building Expansion Breaks Ground

We have recently begun working on a 14,000 sq. ft. expansion in Hartland, Wisconsin. The expansion will be the official home of our service division, Price On-Site as well as a new retail location. More details to follow soon. Photos to come as the build continues over the next several weeks. Check back for updated photos of the building’s process.

Click on a thumbnail below to see a full-sized image.

[Show as slideshow]

Extend oil and component life with Price On-Site.

 

Click HERE to download a PDF.

Visit Price On-Site online.

 

Enter to win a FREE golf umbrella, luggage tag, camo hat or flash drive!

You can enter to win one of several great prizes! You could win either a large golf umbrella OR a genuine leather luggage tag from Sun Hydraulics. In addition, one lucky winner will also receive our very popular Price Engineering camo hat and flash drive.

How do you enter? Simply take 1-2 minute survey and you’ll be entered to win!

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Survey is now closed. Winners will be announced by Tuesday, June 5th.

 

VIDEO Update: Price On-Site speeds onto Beaver Dam Raceway

Price On-Site has added one more car to their fleet of vehicles – a 350 HP, 1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass 442. It made its track debut in April 2012 and can be seen all summer at Beaver Dam Raceway as a part of their street stock racing division.

Pat Kinjerski and son David are a part of DK Motorsports, the team that owns and races the Price On-Site-sponsored car. No stranger to the track, 15-year-old David races the vehicle and was named ‘Rookie of the Year’ in Stevens Point last year at age 14.

Join us for “A Day at the Races” on Saturday, June 9th!

The DK Motorsports car will be racing on the following dates:

May 26th – National Qualifier

June 2nd

June 9th

June 16th

June 23rd

June 30th

July 14th

July 21st

July 28th

August 11th

August 18th

August 25th

September 1st

September 8th

September 15th

Pits at 3:30PM | Gates at 4:30PM | Race at 6:30PM **For ALL dates**

 To view a PDF of the full racing schedule, CLICK HERE>>

 

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Have you ever wondered what its like to be in the driver’s seat of a race car? Check out this video filmed inside car number 15 from DK Motorsports.

Now Available: FT Series Proportional Directional Valves from Sun Hydraulics

 

Sun Hydraulic’s FC Series FTDC-XYN 4-way, 3-position, directional-control valve is a great way to gain the accuracy needed in a hydraulic system.

Technical Features

• -Nominal operating pressures for port 1 and port 6 should not exceed 500 psi (35 bar).
  -Pressure at ports 1 and 6 directly oppose each other.
  -These valves may be pressure compensated by an external, modulating, logic element. Use LR_C-XHN for a bypass circuit or LP_C-XHN for a restrictive circuit. These valves incorporate the Sun floating style construction to minimal binding of internal parts due to excessive installation torque and/or cavity/cartridge machining variations.
  -These valves provide a degree of self-compensation and may be used as a flow control. To increase the accuracy of flow control, an external, modulating, logic element can be used to maintain a constant flow over a wider range of flows and pressures.

  Contact us today for more information.

  (262) 369-3700 OR ‘sales@priceeng.com’

EDITOR’S NOTE: The product is in the FT series, NOT FC series. 

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